The European Commission (EC) approved Germany's scheme to roll out a
network of user-friendly infrastructure for charging electric vehicles
across the country on Monday.
According to the EC's announcement,
the plan, which costs €300 million ($319 million) over four years,
requires that electricity for the charging infrastructure comes from
renewable energy sources with contracts awarded through an open and
transparent tender procedure.
The EC said that Germany's plan is in line with EU state aid rules.
"Electric
vehicles can provide real benefits to society by reducing harmful
emissions and noise pollution. The German support scheme will encourage
consumers and businesses to use electric vehicles. It will provide the
necessary infrastructure in a cost-effective way in line with EU state
aid rules," said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The
EC also said it considers that such measures will encourage a
significant uptake of electric vehicles and therefore make a major
contribution towards meeting the common interest of reducing emissions
and improving air quality.
The measures will also support the
European strategy for low-emission mobility, in particular in terms of
the objective of speeding up the deployment of low-emission alternative
energy for transport and contributing to the decarbonization agenda,
according to the EC.
(Anadolu Agency)